thepacificfandomcom-20200213-history
Robert Leckie
Private First Class Robert Leckie is one of the three main characters of The Pacific. He served in all of the 1st Marine Division's major campaigns until halfway through Peleliu as a scout and a machine gunner serving in How company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, before being transferred to 2nd Battalion intelligence, and later back to How Company. History Leckie was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 18, 1920 to an Irish Catholic family of eight children. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. He began his professional writing career, before World War II, at age 16 as a sports writer for The Record of Hackensack in Hackensack. Leckie is first seen in the series prior to his time in the marines talking to his neighbor and possible love interest, Vera Keller. Training In 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After training (during which he failed miserably at the rifle test) he was assigned to his company where he first meets Pfc. Bill "Hoosier" Smith, who Leckie did like at first because of his surly nature which hid some apprehension and fear for what lay in store for him at Guadalcanal. He next meets Pfc. Lew "Chuckler" Juergens, who Leckie gets along with a lot better due to his friendly and easygoing nature. It wasn't until much later that Leckie met Pfc. Wilbur "Bud" "Runner" Conley, who was a runner in prep school before the war. They all became good friends throughout the war, with Chuckler becoming the unofficial leader of the group. Guadalcanal Campaign He is later seen in a navy ship with his friends talking about what is in store for them. Chuckler suggests that it is going to be a turkey shoot, while Leckie gives some literary quotes just before the regiment goes topside. Battle of the Tenaru He is then seen landing on the shores of Guadalcanal with the rest of the 1st Marine Division, strangely, with no resistance. He later participates in the Battle of the Tenaru with his unit, in what his friend Chuckler later decribes as a turkey shoot, which he suspected from the beginning. Leckie later watches his friend Chuckler get promoted to Corporal by Lt. Hugh "Ivy League" Corrigan, however, Leckie was virtually ignored despite having done similar merits, leading to Leckie developing a dislike of Corrigan. Leckie is later seen greeting the 1st Battlion, 7th Marines along with the rest of his unit. Later in Gudalcanal ]]Leckie is later seen reading one of his letters to Vera aloud to his friends. He is then seen eating peaches that he stole from an Army division that always had more food, water, and any other essentials than the 1st Marine Division. He was not the first one who stole from the division. Leckie is given the nickname "Peaches" by Runner who was suffering form the runs at that time. Later that night, Leckie and the others had to endure a Japanese bombing. They make it, but they are severely shaken the next morning, including Leckie. They participate in an ensuing battle that night and emerge victorious. They get on a navy ship destined for Melbourne where a crewman tells them that the Division is regarded as being heroes for their part in Guadalcanal. Melbourne Leckie and his friends are later seen in Melbourne, where many of the marines have gone AWOL, including Leckie and all of his friends save for Hoosier, who wanted to catch some extra sleep. Leckie later bumps into an Austrailian girl named Stella, whom he dates and stays with her family during his time in Melbourne. They bond and fall in love during this time. Leckie later talks with Stella's religious and caring mother, watched by Stella. Stella's mother then promises Leckie that she will pray that he will return after the war. Break-Up Leckie later returns from a long and tiring walk with the marines to Stella's house to find Stella waiting there. Stella tells him that since he might not come back, he shouldn't for her mom's sake. Leckie leaves, crushed, promising to never come back, and he drowns his sorrows in alchohol, later finding Chuckler who desperately needed to take a piss. Chuckler unwisely hands guard duty to Leckie, and the latter later assaults Corrigan out of drunkeness and dislike, landing both him and Chuckler in jail, though no tension is shown, and both were busted down to Private. Leckie was later sentenced to five days bread and water, a sentence which involves a diet consisting of only bread and wearing uniforms with prominent black circles so a guard can easily spot he tries to escape the brig cells that were constantly damp. Leckie and Chuckler are later released from the sentences, and Leckie is transferred to intelligence by Corrigan. Running Afoul of the MP According to Leckie's memoirs, Leckie, Chuckler, and Runner, along with another marine nicknamed "Chicken" were later part of the Marines who escaped the unpopular HMS Manoora. The MP later found out, and Leckie made a hasty escape out of a restaurant. He is aided by one or two Austrailians, and he met back up with Chicken and Chuckler, however, Runner was caught by the MP before they met up. They almost manage to get back in, but a sentry catches them, and almost shoots Leckie after the latter tries to make a break for it. A particularly unfair Major later comes over and sentences Leckie to another ten days in bread-and-water with Runner as a guard at one time giving Leckie a hot dog from the mess. Leckie and Chicken are later freed from the sentence, however, Leckie still had to surrender his pay and Private First Class chevrons. After a brief protest, he agrees relunctantly. Cape Gloucester Leckie is later part of the Battle of Cape Gloucester, where he experiences a harsh enviornment, as well as harsh new officer, Lt. Larkin. During one patrol, Leckie is put in the rear postion. However, he later hears a twig snapping and thought that the four men approaching were his until the helmet sillouettes were made more clear, revealing them to be Japanese soldiers. He hides behind a log for a while before he opens fire, killing all four of the soldiers before they could even shoot, earning praise from the leading officer, if only a small amount. He continues to write letters to Vera, and later, during a patrol, he finds a box that once belonged to a Japanese officer that contained a Japanese pistol among other things. This box and pistol are later confiscated by Larkin, whom he later steals his pistol back from, causing a confrontation between the two, ultimately ending with Larkin sending Leckie to mess hall duty. He later finds out that he accidentally pissed his pants, and he goes to a medic to find out that he had nocturnal enuresis. There was nothing he could do about it in Cape Gloucester, however, and he kept pissing in his sleep. At some point, he finds Canadian transfer, Lt. Lebec shooting himself in the mouth in an act of suicide. Pavuvu/Banika When they get to Pavuvu, much to the Marines' chagrin, as the island was not exactly a very nice place to recuperate, Leckie and his friends participate in a "Stateside Lottery" which determined who among the Marines will go home. However, Leckie and his friends could not participate because of all the trouble they have caused throughout their time in the war prior, much to their anger and frustration. Leckie is later inducted into a hospital in the neighboring island of Banika for treatment of his enurisis. Prior to his induction to the overflow ward, Leckie scares a doctor with the pistol briefly before asking what to do with it. While there, he finds Pfc. Ronnie Gibson, a teamate who was incarcerated for trying to steal a plane. After some time of comfort and boredom, even though he was still afflicted with nocturnal enurisis at the time, he later gets out of the hospital with the help of the head doctor, handing over his pistol as a bribe. While he is leaving, he talks with Gibson, who has clearly been traumatized and disturbed by his experiences. As Leckie walks out, Gibson tells him that he hopes that his death will be swift and painless, for to him, it is better than participating in the Pacific war. Leckie then leaves to find his friends playing a game outside. Prior to Peleliu Leckie later meets a replacement, who is none other than Eugene Sledge who had just met teammate Sidney Phillips, who just happened to be Sledge's best friend. Leckie then gives his opinion on religion, basically that if God cared about them, why is he letting the war happen? Sledge replies that God does not need to. Leckie then tries to sell Sledge a bible, the latter whom already has a pocket sized one. Peleliu Peleliu Landing Leckie later participates in the Battle of Peleliu, where he finds many horrible things. Hoosier gets hit in the side at one time, but he ultimately survives. Leckie could not find Chuckler during the assault. Fortunately, Runner catches up to Leckie unscathed and is told that Hoosier got hit. They are later seen in a foxhole alone, with Runner sleeping but Leckie lying awake. Peleliu Airfield Leckie later participates in the Airfield assault, where he sees many marines get killed in the process. Runner gets shot, but not too seriously, and Leckie goes to get a corpsman and a radio operator to replace the one who just died of his wounds. During his fruitless search, he is knocked back by an explosion where the impact wounds him badly, but he survives, and he later finds Runner with his arm in a sling, who forgives him for not finding a corpsman during the battle. Leckie is then seen taking a last look at Peleliu before his boat leaves to take him home. Return Home Offscreen, Leckie soon reunites with his friends once more, with Chuckler and Hoosier having survived their respective wounds. Leckie and his friends soon split up again afterwards, which explains why we don't see any of his friends in his final episode. The next time we encounter Leckie is in a hospital, where he learns that the war was over and that the Japanese surrendered, much to his surprise. After returning from the hospital, he returns home and moves back into his house, all the while finding out to his dismay that Vera Keller was dating an army officer, Lt. Charles Dunworthy. He gets his old job back at the local newspaper and was typing on his typewriter, until he saw Vera come back home. His mother encourages him to go after Vera and wear his dress blues. Leckie does, and he goes to Vera's house, winning her over with a furious Dunworthy driving off in his car. Leckie and Vera talk, and it is here that it is revealed that Leckie's letters to Vera were abandoned by him when he thought that he wasn't going to live. They continue to date and he and Vera eventually marry and have three children: David, Geoff, and Joan. Later Life Leckie move on to become a reporter for the Associated Press, the Buffalo Courier-Express, the New York Journal American, the New York Daily News and The Star-Ledger. According to Vera, in 1951 he was inspired to write a memoir after seeing South Pacific, a musical on Broadway and walking out halfway through. He said "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn’t a musical." His first and best-selling book, ''Helmet for My Pillow'', a personal war memoir which later formed part of the basis for The Pacific, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Desert Storm (1991). Death Robert Leckie died in 2001, the same year that The Pacific's predessecor, Band of Brothers was released, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Personality and Traits In terms of personality, Leckie is one of the most complicated characters of the series. He was a charming and intelligent person, and he can be a ladies man when he needs to be. However, he, like other marines, has suffered from psychological trauma courtesy of the war, but it doesn't affect him as badly as others like Eugene Sledge. While he was not one of the best marines in the corps, he was one of the most complicated. At the end of the war, he still keeps some of his basic traits and he becomes an accomplished author for the rest of his life. Leckie never rises above the rank of Private First Class; as a matter of fact he has it taken away from him four times after a handful of alcohol-fused incidents, which leads him to the proudly self-proclaimed honor of a hard-fighting, hard-drinking and A Marine Brig-rat. Both he and fellow future author, Eugene Sledge, have nothing but disgust for the rear-echelon, the Army, incompetent officers, and those that were drafted. They especially dislike the rear-echelon souvenir hunters and officers that take their hard-earned mementos under false pretenses, Lt. Larkin for example. Leckie also held a dislike towards Lt. Hugh Corrigan, his Commanding Officer in Guadalcanal, as he was a Dartmouth College graduate (hence the nickname, "Ivy League") and given a commision thus, in Leckie's point of view, Corrigan was not a real Marine. In both his memoirs and the series, Leckie was brigged in Melbourne after a case of Gross Insubordination and Assaulting an Officer. Corrigan had him transferred out of the company and into intelligence. Gallery 600px-Pac01 012.jpg|Leckie and Chuckler in the Battle of the Tenaru. 600px-Pacific1917a.jpg|Leckie, Chuckler, Runner, and Hoosier after the Battle of the Tenaru. Leckie's Memoirs.jpg|Leckie's Memoirs, Helmet For My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific 2010 paperback edition|link=Helmet For My Pillow Leckie.jpg|Leckie on Cape Gloucester Robert Leckie enlistment.JPG Robert Leckie after boot camp.JPG Leckie at Gloucester.JPG Trivia * Leckie seemed to be the main focus of the series until he was wounded in Peleliu, Eugene Sledge seems to take up his mantle for the rest of the series's run. *Most of the personalities of Leckie's friends is fleshed out in Leckie's memoirs. *After he is wounded in Episode 6, he is absent until 4 episodes later. *Leckie died in 2001, the same year that The Pacific's predesescor, Band of Brothers was released. *His best friends are Chuckler, Runner, and Hoosier, all of whom survived the war along with him with various wounds. All of them are also deseased. *In his memoirs, Leckie did not aquire his Japanese pistol until Pavuvu where he was given it by a marine that he called Rutherford, who stole it under similar pretenses that Leckie took in the series. Also, unlike in the series, Leckie gives the pistol back to Rutherford after his time in Banika. *In Melbourne, Leckie actually dated several women. While Stella is a fictional character, she is most likely based off of "Sheila" from Leckie's memoirs, who also let Leckie spend the night at her house (although Chuckler was also among them). *Robert Leckie is the lowest ranking main character in the series. See Also Lew Juergens Wilbur Conley Bill Smith Hugh Corrigan Ronnie Gibson Sidney Phillips Larkin Vera Keller Stella Karamanlis Helmet For My Pillow 1st Marine Division Category:Characters Category:Marines Category:Deseased Characters